5 Common Misconceptions About Crypto Long Held by Thais

Introduction — Why are people still afraid of crypto?

If you ask general Thai people if they know crypto, many will say yes. But when you ask deeper, the answers are usually 'It's very risky,' 'Is it illegal?' or 'You need a lot of money to play.'

These beliefs partly stem from bad news spread during crypto booms, partly from people who lost money and used their personal experience to judge the entire industry, and partly from simple misconceptions passed on by word of mouth.

This article will debunk 5 misconceptions that Thais have held for a long time. I'm not saying crypto has no risk—it certainly does—but what are the actual risks, and what is just groundless fear?

Misconception 1 — 'Crypto is illegal in Thailand'

This is the most widespread and most incorrect belief.

The truth is cryptocurrency is not illegal in Thailand. Contrary to what many think, Thailand was one of the first countries in Asia to have clear crypto regulations, with the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018) enacted since 2018.

This law does not prohibit citizens from trading crypto but requires service providers, such as exchanges, to obtain a license from the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) before operating in Thailand. This means Thais trading crypto on legal exchanges like Bitkub or Binance TH are acting entirely within the law.

What about DEXs like Hyperliquid or SiamDEX? A DEX is a blockchain protocol with no operating company in Thailand. Currently, there is no law prohibiting Thais from using a DEX directly because it is software running on a blockchain, not a business requiring a license. The situation is similar to using a VPN or international trading software where no law explicitly forbids it.

What is actually illegal in Thailand is using crypto for money laundering, fraud, or tax evasion—things that are illegal regardless of the asset type.

Therefore, if anyone says crypto is illegal in Thailand, that is false information. The correct fact is that it is under regulation and subject to taxes just like other types of investment.

Misconception 2 — 'You need high capital to trade crypto'

Another belief that prevents many from starting.

In an era where Bitcoin is priced at $68,000 per coin, many think they need hundreds of thousands of Baht to buy it. But the truth is Bitcoin and almost every crypto can be purchased in fractions. You can buy Bitcoin starting from 0.00001 BTC, which is worth only a few dozen Baht.

On Thai exchanges like Bitkub, you can start trading with just a few hundred Baht. And on a DEX like SiamDEX, which uses USDC as collateral, you can also start with a small amount of money. There is no rule stating how much minimum capital you must have.

Of course, trading futures with leverage requires more caution than holding spot, but that is a matter of risk management, not a matter of the amount of money you must have initially.

What is more important than the amount of capital is knowledge and risk management. Someone starting with a small amount who is disciplined and understands the market usually fares better than someone starting with a lot of money but no clear plan.

Misconception 3 — 'DEXs are more dangerous than CEXs'

This belief often comes from news about DeFi hacks that appear periodically. But if you look at the actual data, the overall picture is much more complex.

CEXs or Centralized Exchanges like Binance, FTX, or Bitkub are exchanges with operating companies that hold users' funds on their behalf. The advantage is ease of use and customer support. But a huge disadvantage is you do not hold your own private keys, which means if the exchange collapses or cheats, your money could disappear entirely. The FTX event in 2022 is a very clear example: investors worldwide lost billions of dollars because they trusted the exchange.

DEXs or Decentralized Exchanges like Hyperliquid (which SiamDEX uses as a backend) work differently. You connect your own wallet directly and perform transactions on the blockchain. The exchange team has no right to manage your money and cannot freeze or seize your funds.

What about the DeFi hacks in the news? There are several types. Some are attacks on smart contracts with code vulnerabilities. Some are governance attacks, such as the Drift Protocol case in 2026, where attackers used social engineering to trick multisig members into signing a malicious transaction.

A key observation is that Hyperliquid, which SiamDEX uses as its backend, has never been hacked in a way that caused a loss of user funds. Meanwhile, several famous CEXs have collapsed, causing users to lose money.

In summary, both CEXs and DEXs have different types of risks. CEXs have counterparty risk (the company holding your money), while DEXs have smart contract and protocol design risks. Diversifying your portfolio across multiple platforms and not depositing more money than necessary is the best way to manage risk.

Misconception 4 — 'No KYC means it's for illicit purposes'

This is a deeply rooted belief in Thai society because we are accustomed to a financial system where everything must be identified.

KYC (Know Your Customer) is a process financial institutions must follow by law to prevent money laundering. All CEXs in Thailand must do this because they are licensed by the SEC and must follow AML (Anti-Money Laundering) standards.

But a DEX works entirely differently. It is a protocol on the blockchain that operates via automated smart contracts. There is no company to be accountable to regulatory agencies. Every transaction is recorded on the blockchain, which everyone can inspect. Therefore, transparency is greater than CEXs in many dimensions.

Not having to do KYC on a DEX does not mean it was designed to hide anything; it is because the protocol is permissionless. Everyone with a wallet has equal access, just as using the internet doesn't require a license first.

In reality, many investors using DEXs are people who want privacy for their legal investments. Just as you don't have to tell anyone which stocks you buy, many professional traders, funds, and institutional investors use DEXs because they want good liquidity and don't want their positions exposed.

What you are responsible for is paying taxes on crypto profits as required by Thai law, which is your duty whether you trade on a CEX or a DEX.

Misconception 5 — 'Crypto is gambling, no different from the lottery'

This is the most nuanced misconception among the five because it isn't 100% wrong, but it isn't 100% right either.

The truth is crypto contains both an investment part and a high-risk speculative part, depending on how you approach it.

If you buy a meme coin that just came out because you saw a TikTok post without knowing what it does, that is closer to gambling than investing. But if you seriously study Bitcoin, understand that it is a decentralized store of value with a limited supply of 21 million coins, and see that institutional adoption is increasing every year, that is a reasoned investment.

Similarly, trading futures like NVDA stocks or WTI oil on SiamDEX—if you analyze charts, read OPEC+ news, and set a stop loss every time—is not much different from a futures trader on the CME. But if you guess randomly and hope for luck, that is closer to gambling.

The key difference between investing and gambling is having information, a plan, and risk management. Pure gambling is a zero-sum game where the winner takes what the loser loses. But investing in an asset with underlying value, like Bitcoin or Ethereum—which is the infrastructure for the entire DeFi world—has value created from actual usage.

However, I must be honest that many meme coins, whether PEPE, DOGE during price spikes, or CHILLGUY which dropped 98% from its ATH, are very similar to short-term speculation, not long-term investment. If you enter this sector, you must acknowledge the risk first.

So, what are the actual risks of crypto?

Before concluding, I want to mention actual risks that aren't misconceptions, but things you must know before starting.

• High Volatility: Bitcoin can drop 50-80% during a bear market, and altcoins can drop even more. If you invest, you must be able to handle this volatility.
• No Fund Protector: If money disappears from a bank, there is PDPA protection. But if crypto money disappears due to a hack or being sent to the wrong address, no one can help.
• Numerous Scams: Especially projects promising unusually high returns or influencers paid to shill projects without disclosure.
• Taxes: Profits from crypto are taxable under Thai law. Failure to comply may cause future problems.

However, these risks can be managed through education, diversification, and disciplined stop-loss setting, which is different from fear derived from the five misconceptions mentioned.

Conclusion — Understand first, then decide

Crypto is not a magic potion to get rich quick, and it is not a dark, mysterious, scary thing like many think. It is a new form of financial technology that has both opportunities and risks, similar to stocks, funds, or forex.

The difference is crypto gives you direct access to global markets without middlemen, has no KYC, no minimum requirements, and is open 24/7.

If you're ready and want to try trading—whether it's Bitcoin, Ethereum, NVIDIA stocks, Gold, or WTI oil—try starting at siamdex.com. Connect your MetaMask and trade immediately. No KYC, no holidays, and withdraw as Baht via Bitkub easily.